Home Office

Asylum: Kent

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken, or propose to take, to support Kent County Council with the increased number of young people seeking asylum in Kent.

Lord Bates: The Government recognises the outstanding work of Kent County Council in caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children, but believes a national response is required. We have offered additional funding to other Local Authorities willing to accept cases from Kent and are working closely with the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Children’s Services to finalise plans for a new scheme to disperse unaccompanied child asylum seekers to the care of other local authorities.At the same time we continue to work with French authorities to monitor the pressures of illegal immigration at the UK border and work with port operators to bolster security. Significant investment has been made by the UK and French governments to provide additional security measures in Coquelles, including fencing, extra private security personnel, round-the-clock searching and additional French mobile policing units.

Asylum

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to locate asylum seekers in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland; and if so, what discussions have taken place with the devolved administrations about the matter especially in relation to (1) the number of asylum seekers to be located, (2) the timetable for implementation, and (3) what monies will be provided from the Treasury to fund the locations.

Lord Bates: The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, introduced the policy of national dispersal and was designed to introduce an equitable distribution across the country such that no one area was overburdened by the obligation of supporting asylum seekers. In accordance with that Act a number of local authorities across the UK, including those within the devolved administrations, have volunteered to participate in accommodating asylum seekers. As part of the dispersal policy established in 2000, an advisory cluster limit was set by the Home Office at 1 asylum seeker for every 200 of the settled population.We are aware that there has been an increase in the demand for accommodation from asylum seekers due to increased intake. We are currently working closely with accommodation providers and local authorities to widen existing dispersal areas.

Refugees: Syria

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Scheme resettlement programme for Syrian refugees will affect the acceptance of and support for refugees from (1) Syria, and (2) other countries, whose applications are not within the programme.

Lord Bates: Asylum applications received from Syrian nationals who have not been brought to the UK as recognised refugees under the scheme will be processed in the normal manner. If they are found to have a genuine fear of persecution they will be granted asylum in the UK.The UK will also deal with asylum applications from nationals of other countries in the normal way and the VPR scheme will not affect acceptance or support of those who are recognised as refugees here.The VPR scheme, furthermore, does not impact on the Gateway or Mandate refugee schemes and the UK will continue to run these schemes together.

HM Passport Office: Belfast

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each year since 1995, how many passports have been issued by the appropriate office in Belfast.

Lord Bates: I refer to the attached table which provides by calendar year the volume of passport applications issued by the Belfast office from 2005 to 2014. Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not hold readily available data prior to 2005 and the cost of extracting this data would be disproportionate.YearNumber of passports processed by Belfast Office2005359,2242006336,3062007364,8212008341,8982009370,6222010364,6882011408,6282012427,4222013433,5302014628,528



Number of passports processed by Belfast office
(Excel SpreadSheet, 8.08 KB)

Refugees: Visas

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered making representations at international level for a system of humanitarian visas in the light of the current migrant crisis.

Lord Bates: There is no provision in our Immigration Rules for someone to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum or humanitarian protection and Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to make representations at international level for a system of humanitarian visas.Instead, we are focusing our efforts on resettling vulnerable people in need of international protection from the region, including 20,000 Syrians by the end of the Parliament. This provides refugees with a direct and safe route to the UK and uses established UNHCR processes. This is in addition to the £1.12 billion in humanitarian aid provided by the UK for those most in need in the region – more than any other country in the world except the United States.

Visas: Turkey

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the agreement at the 18 May European Union Council meeting that the EU will work towards allowing visa-free access to the EU for Turkish citizens, whether Turkish citizens will be granted visa-free access to the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates: The UK does not participate in the immigration and border aspects of the Schengen acquis so there is no obligation on the UK to liberalise the visa regime for Turkish citizens as a result of the European Union Council decision. We continue to monitor the situation including the Commission’s assessment of the security and migratory impacts of visa liberalisation.The Government regularly reviews the visa system. Visa regimes are imposed and removed on the basis of the risk that the country’s citizens pose to the UK. There are no current plans to change the visa regime for Turkish citizens.

Business: Procurement

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the obstacles people will encounter when searching for company statements on supply chains, which are required to be produced by all companies that have a turnover of £36 million or more.

Lord Bates: The Government wants to ensure that ‘slavery and human trafficking statements’ are accessible and easy to find. That is why the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires organisations to place a link to their statement in a prominent place on their website. This should ensure that people do not encounter undue obstacles when searching for company statements.

Business: Procurement

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more are ready to comply with the obligations of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Transparency in Supply Chains) Regulations 2015.

Lord Bates: Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is now in force. Many businesses called for this provision, we consulted on the turnover threshold, and then involved businesses in drafting associated guidance. Therefore, the Government is confident businesses will be ready.We have also included a transition provision so that organisations will have time to consider the guidance before the first statements are due on or after 31 March 2016.

Schools: Police

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what protocols should be followed when a pupil is interviewed by the police on school premises.

Lord Bates: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Codes of Practice set out the procedures that the police must follow in the exercise of their powers. The interviewing of suspects and witnesses is covered in paragraphs 11 and 12 of PACE Code C. In relation to interviewing pupils on school premises, I would refer you to paragraph 11.16 and Note for Guidance 11D:11.16 Juveniles may only be interviewed at their place of education in exceptional circumstances and only when the principal or their nominee agrees. Every effort should be made to notify the parent(s) or other person responsible for the juvenile’s welfare and the appropriate adult, if this is a different person, that the police want to interview the juvenile and reasonable time should be allowed to enable the appropriate adult to be present at the interview.If awaiting the appropriate adult would cause unreasonable delay, and unless the juvenile is suspected of an offence against the educational establishment, the principal or their nominee can act as the appropriate adult for the purposes of the interview. Note: Paragraph 1.5A extends the requirement in this paragraph to 17-year-old suspects. 11D Juveniles should not be arrested at their place of education unless this is unavoidable. When a juvenile is arrested at their place of education, the principal or their nominee must be informed. Paragraph 1.5A extends this Note to 17-year-old suspects.In addition, Note for Guidance 2A in PACE Code G specifically relates to the investigation of the use of force by school staff. PACE Codes of Practice must be followed by all police officers in England and Wales. At a local level, police forces may provide their officers with additional guidance to that contained within the PACE codes. This guidance could relate to the protocols to be followed when interviewing pupils on school premises. Such guidance is not held centrally.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Stun Guns

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 have been tasered in the past 12 months; what were the ethnicity, gender and age characteristics of the patients tasered; and what was the ratio of staff to patients at the time of each incident.

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what monitoring takes place of the use of tasers on patients detained under the Mental Health 1983, and how that monitoring information is made accessible to the public.

Lord Bates: Data is not recorded centrally on the number of individuals tasered who are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 or on the monitoring of patients. A Taser record is completed by police officers on every occasion where a Taser is used. However, this record does not show whether individuals are detained or monitored after the incidents nor information on the ratio of staff to patients.Police guidance specifies that all individuals who have been subjected to the discharge of a Taser should be examined by a forensic medical examiner.To improve transparency around how force such as Taser is used by the police, the Home Secretary has asked Chief Constable David Shaw to carry out an in depth review of Taser data and other use of force. This will present options for collecting, collating and publishing data on how force including Taser is being used, who it is being used on and what the outcomes are.

Immigration: Republic of Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current level of immigration into the United Kingdom across the land border with the Republic of Ireland.

Lord Bates: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. Routine immigration controls are not conducted on the land border between the UK and Republic of Ireland. However, the Government takes protecting our border security very seriously, and there is a high level of collaboration on work with Ireland to strengthen the Common Travel Area’s external border.

Refugees: Iraq

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the welfare of Iraqi Christians fleeing that country; and how many have been granted refugee status in the United Kingdom in each year since 2010.

Lord Bates: Our country information and guidance recognises that, in general, religious minorities including Christians, are particularly vulnerable and are likely to be at risk of persecution in parts of Iraq. Each claim is considered on its individual merits, taking into account up to date country information.In the 5 years since 2010, we have granted refugee status to 20 Iraqi’s with a claimed Christian religion however we are unable to confirm that the reason for the grant of status was on the basis of their Christianity. ReligionGranted in YearGrand Total20102011201220132014Christian5422619Christian - Coptic/Orthodox11Grand Total5522620

Leader of the House of Lords

House of Lords: Bishops

Baroness Northover: To ask the Leader of the House what discussions she has had with relevant authorities regarding a gender specific title for the first woman bishop to be introduced into the House of Lords, currently described as the Lord Bishop of Gloucester.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Following discussions between the Church of England and the Crown Office, it has been agreed that ‘The Lord Bishop’ will continue to be the appropriate designation for all Bishops in the House of Lords.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burma: Prisoners

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action has been taken, and will be taken, to secure the release of Phil Blackwood and his colleagues; and what representations have been made to the authorities in Burma.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Mr Blackwood entered Burma on his New Zealand passport. For consular purposes, the Burmese authorities therefore consider him to be a national of New Zealand, and the New Zealand authorities have taken the lead on Mr Blackwood’s case and keeping his immediate family in New Zealand updated. We are working closely with the New Zealand government and await the outcome of Mr Blackwood’s appeal. We cannot interfere in the legal process of another country, however, our Ambassador in Burma raised the case in December last year with the Minister for the Presidency. My Rt Hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) met Mr Blackwood's cousin on 19 October and we will make further representations as appropiate.

Burma: Sexual Offences

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the UN regarding the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate the evidence of sexual violence against women in Burma.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not made any such recommendations to the UN. We recognise that sexual violence in Burma remains a significant problem and remain focused on practical action to tackle it, including pressing the Burmese government to live up to the commitments they made when they endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict at the London Global Summit in June 2014.During his visit to Burma in July, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), pressed the Burmese government at Senior Minister level on the issue, and launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence. The UK was instrumental in facilitating the visit to Burma this summer of Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie Pitt. We also continue to press the agenda at international fora, including through the UN resolutions on Burma at the General Assembly and Human Rights Council, which we co-sponsor.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to ensure that all decisions about names of areas in Northern Ireland must be taken by mutual agreement of the two communities, as outlined in the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

Lord Dunlop: The Government remains fully committed to supporting the institutions and principles established under the Belfast Agreement.

Parades: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will require the Northern Ireland Parades Commission to disclose to the Police Service of Northern Ireland all information about potential disturbances of the peace that have been notified to them in the process of developing determinations.

Lord Dunlop: As a public authority, the Parades Commission has general obligations under public law, which may in certain circumstances include an obligation to notify the Police Service of Northern Ireland about potential disturbances of the peace notified to them in the process of developing determinations. The discharge of these obligations is an operational matter for the Commission.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Minimum Wage

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that workers in the United Kingdom currently earning below the minimum wage receive the minimum wage.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and responds to every complaint it receives. It also conducts programmes of targeted enforcement in sectors of the economy which have a high risk of non-compliance with the NMW. The Government increased HMRC’s budget for enforcing the NMW by £4m for 2015/16 to £13.2m.The Government announced in September an increase in HMRC’s enforcement funding for 2016/17, following the introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016. The Government also announced a package of measures to strengthen NMW enforcement: increasing penalties from 100% to 200% of the arrears that employers owe; the setting up of a dedicated team in HMRC focused on tackling the most serious cases of wilful non-compliance; and the creation of a statutory Director of Labour Market Enforcement and Exploitation.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 20 October, what consideration they gave to discussing with the European Union the possibility of mothballing some of the steel plants recently announced for closure; what assessment they have made of the difficulties in mothballing a plant; and what estimates they have made, if any, about the costs of doing so.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The state aid rules on giving operating, rescue and restructuring aid to steel companies are unambiguously clear and all such interventions are prohibited. This includes Government financial support for mothballing of steel plant. Given the lack of ambiguity there has been no need to discuss these matters with the European Commission.We know that the SSI Redcar plan had made losses of over £600m in over three years. When the company went into liquidation, the Official Receiver bought supplies to keep certain operations such as the coke ovens going in the hope of funding a commercial buyout. Unfortunately no commercial buyer could be found to maintain operations at the plant. While this was deeply disappointing news, with such large losses and debts, and the price of steel produces expected to stay depressed for some considerable time, it was perhaps not surprising.

Local Government: Devolution

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which City Region bids have been (1) successful, and (2) unsuccessful.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: In response to the Government’s invitation we have received 38 proposals from places seeking Devolution Deals with the Government.We have secured deals with Greater Manchester, Cornwall, Sheffield City Region, the North East and Tees Valley. The Government will continue to work with the other places to develop their proposals, and will continue to consider any new proposals

Local Government: Devolution

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria are used to judge City Region bids.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There are no prescriptive criteria in place to assess bids from local areas. All deals are bespoke and based on proposals brought forward by local areas which then form the basis for negotiation. The Government will consider submissions from all places that have strong, credible devolution proposals, including governance.

Department for Education

Castes: Discrimination

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date they intend to issue the public consultation on how best to prohibit caste discrimination.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The previous government’s proposal to issue a public consultation, as a preliminary to legislation, was made before the court judgments in the Tirkey v Chandhok case changed the law on caste discrimination. Any continuing requirement for a consultation of this sort needs to be re-considered accordingly.

Ministry of Justice

Terrorism

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people aged (1) 21 and over, and (2) under 21, are currently in prison for a terrorist offence; of those, (a) how many have been released on licence since January 2014, and (b) how many have undergone a programme of resettlement or deradicalisation; and what information they have on the effectiveness of resettlement or deradicalisation programmes.

Lord Faulks: As of Friday 23 October, there were 94 prisoners convicted of or on remand for offences under Terrorism Act legislation in prisons in England and Wales. Of these, 85 are 21 and over, and 9 are under 21. Of these 94 prisoners, 2 have been released and subsequently recalled to prison since January 2014.Of the 94, 46 prisoners have undertaken the Extremism Risk Guidelines assessment. These assessments only occur when a prisoner has been convicted and settled in to prison. The Secretary of State has asked the department to review its approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons and probation. This will be supported by external expertise and will sit alongside the cross government work currently underway on developing de-radicalisation programmes.

Probation

Baroness Corston: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proportion of people in the justice system currently supervised by the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies is different to the proportions predicted during the Transforming Rehabilitation contracting process; and whether any differences between the predicted and actual numbers of people so supervised has had any impact on the development of the supply chains contained in the winning Transforming Rehabilitation contract bids.

Lord Faulks: No prediction of the case allocation split between the National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) was made at the time of the Transforming Rehabilitation competition. Instead, actual data was used to identify the proportion of cases that sat with either the NPS or CRCs. The actual proportion of offenders allocated to the NPS or CRCs is now different compared to that at the time of the competition. Any shift in the relative caseloads held between NPS and CRCs would be as a result of a change in the mix of offenders within the systemThe Ministry of Justice monitors offender case allocation and expects providers to implement the supply chains that were set out in their bids during the TR competition, unless otherwise agreed with the Authority. We are working with suppliers to ascertain any potential impact on the supply chain.

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made, or plan to make, to the decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its September meeting in the case of Hirst No 2.

Lord Faulks: Following Ministerial attendance at the recent Committee of Ministers meeting, member states agreed to postpone consideration of the UK's position on prisoner voting until December 2015. The UK's ban on prisoner voting stays in place and, as consistently stated, remains a matter for Parliament to determine.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their timetable for reviewing and amending the capital limit used within Employment Tribunal Fee remission applications.

Lord Faulks: The Government’s recent consultation on Court and Tribunal Fees, published on 22 July 2015, sought views on whether further benefits and payments should be excluded from the fee remission assessment. We will be responding to the consultation in due course.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

Parliament: Textiles

Baroness Young of Hornsey: To ask the Chairman of Committees what the arrangements are for the disposal of discarded textiles, such as uniforms, from the Houses of Parliament and Portcullis House.

Lord Laming: Different departments have different approaches to the disposal of discarded textiles. For example, some have contracts for the replacement of uniforms (and suppliers must reuse, dispose or recycle them securely, as appropriate); others recycle them themselves. We are working towards a more consistent approach to the recycling of discarded textiles including uniforms. Members of the House will be kept updated on these efforts.

Parliament: Uniforms

Baroness Young of Hornsey: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the process for procuring uniforms for parliamentary staff includes criteria for sustainable and ethical sourcing of textiles throughout the supply chain.

Lord Laming: New uniforms are procured through a Parliamentary framework for corporate clothing. The new Procurement Regulations (Public Contracts Regulations 2015)which came into force earlier this yearallow the two Houses to specify much more by way of social and ethical criteria. In line with the values contained within the House of Lords Strategy for the Administration of "obtaining value for money while recognising our corporate responsibility to wider society” and "environmental sustainability", the framework for corporate clothing includes the following criteria relating to sustainable and ethical procurement:All suppliers must have ISO certification or an acceptable environmental policy.All suppliers must have an acceptable equal opportunities policy.All clothing must be inclusive and take into consideration the needs of all groups particularly in relation to protected characteristics such as: disability, gender, religion, ethnicity and the provision of maternity wear.The materials used must be ethically sourced, durable and hard wearing while retaining aesthetic and design elegance.Within their business objectives the two Houses are aspiring to be seen both in the UK and abroad as a model of good practice. The contractor is required to support the two Houses to further develop these aims in relation to this contract i.e. to maximise responsible purchasing, ensuring compliance with employment legislation and good practice, and reducing environment impacts during the life of this contract.To support the two Houses’ environmental aims and contribute to sustainability, it is preferable that the majority of garments supplied are machine washable at lower temperatures.The contractor must ensure that any changes in suppliers used in the delivery of the contract will ensure full compliance with appropriate environment and equalities considerations as detailed in the specification.

House of Lords: Catering

Lord Palmer: To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to the Written Answer by the Chairman of Committees on 18 September (HL2226), what costs were incurred in recruiting the last House of Lords Executive Chef, and for how long that postholder was employed.

Lord Laming: The last Executive Chef was employed by the House for just over a year. We paid £360to publicise the permanent vacancy in relevant forums. Reasonable travel expenses of several candidates were reimbursed at £83.40. An external consultant already engaged by Catering and Retail Services assisted with the selection process - a reasonable estimate of the cost of his time is £278. There were also marginal costs for the refreshment for the panel and ingredients to support a work-based skills test. The successful candidate had previously been employed on a fixed-term contract for which we paid an agency fee of £3,600.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on work incentives of the changes to universal credit work allowances announced in the Budget.

Lord Freud: Universal Credit (UC) has been designed to reduce poverty and ensure work pays. This remains the case following the Summer Budget.The Budget made a number of changes that could have an effect on work incentives, such as introducing of the National Living Wage, that will help ensure this country moves from a low wage, high tax society to a high wage, low tax society.

Unemployment: Young People

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what opportunities are available through the European Social Fund for young people who are not in education, employment or training to study for additional qualifications.

Lord Freud: Young people who are not in education, employment or training are a priority in the 2014-20 European Social Fund programme in England. This programme was agreed by the European Commission in September, and sets aside €340m specifically to help this group. The most disadvantaged young people will also be helped through the €650m provided for activities to address social exclusion.The Managing Authority, based in DWP, launched calls for applications in March 2015 and expects operations to begin in 2016. Final bids are currently being appraised.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the minutes of meetings they have had with the Council Tax Partnership Forum and local authorities regarding Council Tax Support schemes since 2010.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The minutes of meetings of the Council Tax Partnership Forum are attached. These date back to June 2013 when the Forum was first convened.



Forum Minutes 2013
(PDF Document, 216.39 KB)




Forum Minites 2014
(PDF Document, 360.68 KB)




Forum Minutes 2015
(PDF Document, 252.93 KB)

Private Rented Housing: Pests

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent study by Shelter, what steps they are taking to address the problems faced by tenants in privately rented homes infested with vermin.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Local authorities have a power under section 4 of the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 to require owners of premises infested by mice or rats to eradicate the problem and failure to do so is a criminal offence. Infestation by such pests is also a hazard under the housing, health and safety rating system in Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004. Where the infestation is a category 1 hazard the local authority must require the landlord to take action to eradicate the infestation or it may prohibit the property (or the affected part) from being occupied until the hazard has been eradicated. Through licensing schemes under Parts 2 or 3 of that Act an authority can impose licence conditions relating to privately rented homes that require landlords to take measures to prevent infestation of pests and a failure to do so would be a criminal offence.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register

Lord Rennard: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 21 September (HL1901) whether they have (1) ascertained the views of, and (2) obtained the support of, (a) the Scottish Parliament, (b) the Welsh Assembly, (c) the London Assembly, (d) the Local Government Association, and (e) the Electoral Commission, for their plans for bringing forward the full implementation of individual electoral registration in advance of elections in May 2016 and the next review of parliamentary constituency boundaries.

Lord Bridges of Headley: This matter was debated by the House of Lords on 27 October 2015 and the motion to annul the Government’s order was defeated. It would not have been appropriate to consult these legislatures or bodies about the Government’s intentions before advising the UK Parliament. Ministers informed their counterparts in the Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly Government upon taking the decision.The Cabinet Office has also worked closely with a number of local authorities and Valuation Joint Boards in Scotland and have provided over £180,000 in additional funding to support their work specifically targeting their remaining carry forward entries ahead of December 2015. This includes Glasgow City Council who received over £50,000 in additional funding.

Freedom of Information

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of administering the Freedom of Information regime in 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014–15.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Freedom of Information Act applies to 100,000 public authorities and therefore its total cost is not recorded.However, in evidence submitted by the Government to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee in 2012, it was estimated that the staff cost of replying to an FOI requesting central government was £184 and an internal review £179. Based on these calculations, and allowing for average pay awards, the estimated staff cost for central government requests and internal reviews was £9,600,000 in 2012, £10,100,000 in 2013, and £9,300,000 in 2014; and £4,600,000 for initial requests in January - June 2015. Information for the numbers of internal reviews handled in 2015 is not yet available.

Department of Health

General Practitioners: Opening Hours

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many general practitioner practices that received funding to open at weekends and in the evening have cut back out-of-hours work due to (1) a lack of demand; and (2) a shortage of GPs; and by how much those practices have reduced their opening.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Schemes within the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund are trialling innovative and improved general practitioner access. This includes longer opening hours – such as evening and weekend hours – but also different ways of accessing services, for example telephone and video consultations and increased use of skill mix. £175 million (including £25 million sourced from the £1 billion Infrastructure Fund) has been invested in 57 schemes over two waves, meaning that over 18 million patients (a third of the country) will have benefitted from improved access and transformational change at local level by March 2016.The Wave One pilots have, in some cases, adjusted their approach. It is right for pilots to have done this to fit with what is found to work best for the local population.Of the 20 Wave One pilots that initially offered extended access:‒ 12 pilots have maintained or increased their extended access from initial mobilisation;‒ 5 pilots have reduced their extended access by an average of 6 hours per week per scheme; and‒ robust data was not supplied in time for three pilots, so an assessment of extended access variation cannot be made at this time.Schemes noted that in order to meet local needs and preferences, they adjusted opening hours and redirected resources towards the end of the pilot, once the pattern of local demand was better understood. The reasons for reduction in extended access varied according to locality. They included lower than expected demand from patients, and clinical/non-clinical staff availability. Furthermore, after the process of due diligence, there was a difference for some pilots between bid contract and committed hours.Clinical commissioning groups are looking at the evidence from the pilots necessary to secure sustainable provision which has proved beneficial for patients, local services and the profession.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the lessons that can be learnt from the case of Connor Sparrowhawk in order to improve services for those with autism and learning difficulties.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This is a deeply distressing case, and I hope its lessons will be noted by all provider and commissioning authorities. This Government is fully committed to ensuring the best quality care for everyone, and all providers are expected to prioritise the safety and dignity of all patients.Where a care provider delivers unacceptable standards of care, it must be held to account. The Government has introduced new fundamental standards as requirements for registration of care homes with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC has a range of enforcement powers it can use where a provider does not meet these fundamental standards. Where a failure to meet these standards causes harm or a serious risk of harm to service users, the CQC will be able to prosecute both the provider organisation as well as its Directors.Where a provider is convicted, it will face a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine. A Director of a care home can also be prosecuted if he or she has consented or connived in the provision of seriously poor care that has caused harm. In addition, the CQC has the power to remove board-level Directors who are not fit and proper to carry out the roles to which they are appointed.This is a major step forward to ensure that those who are responsible for organisations in which abuse and poor standards of care are allowed to occur are held to account.More generally, the Care Act 2014 heralds a changed approach to adult safeguarding, as embodied by the work that the Department has done with Local Authorities and stakeholders on the programme Making Safeguarding Personal.NHS England, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services will shortly publish their National Transformation Plan aimed at reducing reliance on inpatient care, strengthening community provision and driving transformative change for people with learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges, including those with a mental health condition. In its role as system steward, the Department will be holding system partners to account for delivery and ensuring that the plan is robust, fit for purpose and is equally clear about when families and individuals can expect to see results.

Electronic Cigarettes

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which regulatory body is responsible for regulating the safety of e-cigarettes.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The General Product Safety Directive and associated regulations apply to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), for which Trading Standards are the enforcement authority.The Department of Health is responsible for the transposition of the revised Tobacco Products Directive (Directive 2014/40/EU), which from May 2016 will introduce additional rules on the composition, safety and presentation of e-cigarettes.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will be the designated competent authority under the Directive, which will operate a notification system for e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing refills prior to placing on the market.

Hospital Beds

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is proposed to prevent hospital beds being unavailable as a consequence of the number of elderly patients in hospital wards who cannot be sent home or moved to care homes because of the lack of necessary resources.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Since April local projects across the country have been using the Government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund to reduce non-elective admissions and get people out of hospital more quickly, as part of on-going work to bring health and social care services together. Local Better Care Fund plans for 2015-2016 should mean that there are 84,000 fewer days spent in hospital unnecessarily because of delayed transfers of care.

NHS: Employment Agencies

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the assessment by Monitor that the capping of agency staff rates could result in a shortage of staff working for the National Health Service.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Price caps for agency staff: proposed roles and consultation was published by the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) and Monitor on 15 October 2015. A copy has been attached. The aim of the price caps is to reduce spending on agency staff and to bring the pay of agency workers in line with those of substantive staff employed in the NHS.The NHS TDA and Monitor are currently consulting on these proposals. Any decision on introducing price caps will be subject to the results of the consultation.The proposed price caps do include mechanisms that enable an overriding of the rules should there be any potential compromise to patient safety.



Price caps for agency staff
(PDF Document, 572.79 KB)

Cancer: Drugs

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which medicines will be delisted following their planned changes to the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that decisions on which drugs will be removed from the national Cancer Drugs Fund list are still subject to change. A revised list will be published on NHS England’s website in due course.